When decorating a home, many homeowners choose to cover part of the walls and floors with ceramic tiling. It is necessary to
follow a standardized construction process to achieve the perfect tiling effect. Here are the detailed construction steps:
01. Prepare materials and tooling
Prepare the following tools for checking:
a hollow hammer, a laser level, a straight edge, and a measuring tape.
Prepare the following material proportioning tools:
electric mixer, mixing bucket, measuring cup.
Prepare the following construction tools:
notched trowel, mixing shovel, vibrator, cross positioning card, leveling system, tile spacers, tile support, steel wire brush, cloth, grout float, scraper, line level, paint box, scraper, suction cup, tile cutter.
02. Survey and preparation of the work site
Inspect the base walls and floors for voids, levelness, and loose sand. Measure the area to be tiled and calculate the amount of tile adhesive required.
03. Preparing the base
Inspect and prepare the surface of the substrate on which the tiles will be laid, ensuring that it is clean, level, smooth, and sound. If the substrate is not up to standard, use cement mortar to repair it. If the wall has been painted with flexible waterproof paint, apply a skim coat to improve tile adhesion.
04. Cleaning the tiles
Remove dust and release the agent from the back of the tiles. If the tiles purchased are glazed, soak them in water. Glazed tiles have a high water absorption and if they are not soaked, they may absorb water from the adhesive, causing the tiles to peel off or create hollow areas. Porcelain tiles don't need to be soaked. However, a special tile primer should be applied before installation.
05. Apply tile adhesive to the tile backing
After cleaning the tiles, apply tile adhesive to the back of the tiles. Normally the coverage for one kg of adhesive is 8m². A 5kg bucket can cover 40m². Proceed to the next step when the adhesive becomes transparent.
06. Mix the tile adhesive
Follow the manufacturer's instructions for mixing the tile adhesive. Mix 20kg of adhesive with 4-5kg of water. Add the water before adding the powder, use an electric mixer, and stir the mixture until it is a paste without any sediment. Use the prepared adhesive within 5-6 hours and do not add water to dry adhesive.
07. Spreading the tile adhesive
Use a notched trowel to spread the mixed tile adhesive evenly over the subfloor. Apply a thin layer first, followed by a thicker layer of 5-8mm. Use the notched side of the trowel to make grooves in the wall (convex and concave grooves). Similarly, apply tile adhesive to the back of the tile to ensure an even bond and increased adhesion.
08. Tile installation
Lay the tiles with the grooves on the back so that they are offset from the grooves on the wall. Press and move the tiles up and down left and right to ensure full contact and to eliminate air between the tile and the substrate. This will improve the quality of the tile, reduce voids, and increase tile safety. Tap the tile surface gently with a rubber mallet to make it even and firm.
09. Installing levelling systems and cross spacers
When installing levelling systems and cross spacers, ensure that the thickness of the cross positioning card is greater than the base of the levelling system and that the widths of the horizontal and vertical joints are the same. The joint width should be 3 mm and the embedment depth of the cross spacers should be at least 2 mm.
10. Removing the Leveling System
When removing the leveling system, knock in the direction of the joint and the leveling system wedges can be reused.
11. Installing the floor tiles
Once the wall tiles have been installed, the floor tiles can be installed. The procedure for installing the floor tiles is the same as for the walls.
Note:
Tiling generally follows the sequence of walls before floors.
Maintain consistency in texture direction and color of tiles during installation.
The ambient temperature at the construction site should not be lower than 5°C.
